"at The Arthur and Phyllis Kaplan Orchid Conservatory, new on the campus of Old Dominion University... in Norfolk.
The conservatory opened in April, the result of a gift of nearly 1,000 orchids from Dr. Arthur S. Kaplan, a longtime Norfolk orchid grower and collector, and his wife Phyllis. Kaplan also made a monetary gift toward an endowment to care for his collection. His brother Leonard and sister-in-law Tobee, of Greensboro, N.C., donated $1 million toward construction of the conservatory. Every day orchids from Kaplan's collection are moved in and out of the display house as they go in and out of bloom... [conservator Stephen J.] Urick said. "We have set the bar at about 100 blooming orchids at a time." ... Visitors needed only to follow their noses to the Maxillaria tenufolia, the orchid that smells like coconut custard pie [what does a custard pie smell without the coconut ?]. ... Brassia... The wasps are fooled by the look, are attracted to the plant and pollinate it [its flowers]. ... The orchids sit in niches on the conservatory's rocky back wall, are placed around the waterfall and pool and hang on shepherd's crooks around the visitor path. Other exotic plants such as a large tree fern, a papaya tree and many bromeliads add background foliage. Soon, a bench will invite visitors to sit for a while and take in all the sights, smells, sounds and feel of this little rain forest... The $2.1 million complex includes the public display house along with several growing and research greenhouses. Some greenhouses hold the orchid collection and have space for Urick to propagate orchids. Others house the research of professors and students in ODU's Department of Biological Sciences. With the combination, the ODU community and the public will not only have an opportunity to see orchids - both common and uncommon - in bloom all of the time, they also will see rotating exhibits that might include plants from staff and student research projects. ... Urick said other special exhibits could feature orchids from a certain country, orchid pollination or perhaps a food theme that might include a vanilla orchid... the "brains of the place," a computer in Urick's office... monitors all the greenhouses in the complex every 15 seconds. The computer makes sure the temperature and humidity are exactly as they should be in each greenhouse, whether they house mountaintop or coastal orchids. The computer opens windows, turns on a fog machine that helps control the humidity and temperature and operates other equipment. If something goes wrong, the computer will call Urick at home as well as text-message him. If the power goes out, there is a backup generator to protect the plants. But the heart of the place is Kaplan, the honorary curator, who is there five days a week volunteering his time. He said he still can't get enough of the fascinating plants that have been his avocation for more than 40 years." Source URL : http://hamptonroads.com/2008/06/new-home-orchids-odu ******************** Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
